The Everlasting War
by B3ng3anc3
Summary: The time of peaceful days full of daydreaming is nothing more than memory now. The titan's have attacked crushing anything in their way yet a son of Poseidon bravely carves his path into a brighter future for everyone. Follow Percy as he takes back what the titans have claimed from him, yet beware the power lurking inside him. Perlia.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, I hope all of you are having a wonderful day. Thank you to those who are kind enough to read both my last story and this current one, if you are knew to me, I hope you enjoy my story and good to meet you. It's October first yet Colorado decides to defy all logic and remain summer. The good news is that October is not only my birth month but also the month that Rick Riordan has decided to release the last book in the Heroes of Olympus series. The strange coincidence is that October 7****th**** is the day for both events mentioned previously. Any way I'm sure all of you are looking forward to it as much as I am and are curious which demigod is fated to die in the battle at hand. I would like to ask if anyone else has heard the rumors about ****_The Knights of Olympus. _****It's supposedly the next series Riordan has decided to reveal but I thought he was going to do something involving Norse mythology. Let me know if I am just crazy or not, thank you and happy reading.**

**Thanks to…**

**Everyone and anyone who is reading or ever will read this.**

**All my friends who are reading this from my school- You are so awesome thank you so much for this.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

Chapter 1,

The World as it is Today,

Earth, The United States, New York, names long since recorded into the annals of time but that are now just a cruel reminder of a time not long past. But remembering times of laziness and solitude bring nothing into the world that now reins over every human mind.

What was once bustling streets of businessmen, and young minds filled with hopes and dreams, is now a desperate resistance capital. Women, children and any person looking to get away from war, eventually seek New York. They harbor anyone they can, saving over 70% of New York and the states north of them for civilian population. Military forces occupied the other 30%, they weren't strong by any means, but they were the only defense in this world. The military mainly consisted of men stupid, arrogant, or on a rare occasion, brave enough to try and fight the monstrous hordes of the enemy.

The enemy itself is a group bent on their own way of life, stuck in the past where they were kings with limitless power and nobody raised a finger to stop them. Where they pitted mortal against mortal for their own amusement; ate and drank their fill while others starved. The enemy that so hates the entire mortal race is the titans.

Fifteen years ago, a warrior never before seen rose through the ranks of the demigod numbers. Becoming not only idealized by any whom knew him, but also a glorious beacon shinning forth into the distant future, promising wealth, happiness, and immortality. The gods recognized him as their vary souls given form. What they could not foresee, through his heroic actions and silver tonged words, was the true hand guiding him along on his path, pushing him towards the demise of the gods. Though he may be a son of Zeus himself, his nourishment and will came from Kronos.

He was poisoned by Kronos' lies, the hero's soul becoming dark and twisted. He waited patiently, plotting always, gathering allies that he made through dreams. If he made contact with someone who refused his offer he would have Kronos brainwash him or her, forcing them to become mindless slaves to his will and Kronos' by extension. Of course he also witnessed the ones too powerful and too faithful to brainwash or convince and left them be, keeping his heroic façade showing whenever they were around.

When he ultimately made his move, it was strong, fast, and came from every direction. He destroyed any resistance along the way. Of course mortals fell helpless to their power for they could not even hurt the legions of monsters that stood before them. Cities were decimated and conquered as the hordes pushed on multiple fronts; however the strongest attack pushed straight from the demi-god camp of Camp Half-blood to the Empire State Building. The most horrible part of it all was the figure leading the army itself; Kronos. He had taken over one of the demigod slaves to provide himself a suitable host to recover power in and then had broken free to lead his army to destroy the gods in a swift, fatal swoop.

The part Kronos missed however, was the Roman demigod camp that had been stationed in California. They had been transported to New York to defend the gods, along with any surviving demigod from the Greek camp.

The two armies' numbers were close in number, yet the demigods serving the gods won out in the end, even defeating Kronos with the help of the gods. Before they had a chance to capture the remains of Kronos, essentially his soul, the few survivors of battle scurried away with them, going wherever their main base of operations was.

That was nine and a half years ago, but the memory of that dreaded day still lingers in the corners of every mind. Much has changed since the attack that started what is now called, the age of war. The gods have become much more visible to everyday life as well as all mythological creatures, because the attack shattered the mist, since there were so many monsters in one place. Either because people wanted to forget days long past or because they wanted to show their gratitude towards the gods many new names have been bestowed upon cities and regions. For example New York and anything north of it is now called Elpída or the Greek word for hope, of course in Greek it looks like this; Ελπίδα. Ancient Greek also made its way back into everyday language, of course it took some time to learn and only people dedicated to the newfound religions have taken on such a feat. Great walls were built across the New York and Pennsylvania border that were massive in size and lined with defenses to protect all the civilians within. Demi-gods have become legendary warriors that achieve greatness in battle where ever they go. Of course they all have their specialty but they always hold high-ranking positions and report anything to the gods, demigods are one of the only people who can actually see the gods so they carry out any special mission the gods need doing.

Some demi-gods see the mortal militia as a nuisance feeling that they could do much better by themselves, so they usually enter a vanguard group of strictly demigods or take only solo missions. But just as there are soloists there are demigods that respect the will of the mortal army and they usually lead large raids or defend against great monster invasions.

But with the constant need for gods to be elsewhere for battle and defense, there has been little time for such pleasures as romance. Yet they have not completely stopped either. The rarest occasion was two children of Zeus/Jupiter of the same mother. Thalia Grace and her little brother Jason would rise through the ranks just as their dark brother, becoming icons of hope, yet doubt had others keep close eyes on both the children. Many were surprised Zeus would even dare break the oath he made twice; the oath prohibited the big three from siring any more children. But the children grew to be loyal servants of the gods, and gained the highest position in both camps.

Yet secretly a child of Poseidon was born around the same time, and Hades had two of his children hidden away in his domain. Both gods feared for their children's safety so they kept them as far away from the war as possible. That changed when the child of Poseidon was caught in the attack Kronos made roughly ten years ago. His natural scent was hidden thanks to magic cast on the boy at a young age so they simply took him as a normal human prisoner. They took him back to their lands with wicked intent on what to do with this child. They had killed his family establishing the seed of dark revenge within his heart and all the torture they put him through, as well as the physical labor, just had it blossom into a flower of pure hate against the titans.

He bided his time, finding people he could trust and had the will to fight just like he did. He learned patrol schedules and who needed to be taken out to escape. The child of Poseidon was none other than Percy Jackson yet he still did not know that he was a child of an Olympian. His best friends became his greatest allies; he had many at his side that were willing to die to protect him and each other.

One of his best friends was a guy named Grover Underwood he was captured the same day as Percy and they talked to each other on the way to the slave camp, he informed Percy that he was a satyr even though it was plainly obvious by his legs. In Percy's mind, Grover had an odd way of looking at situations. Grover would often think of nature and food before anything else. His thought process often led to many humorous occasions at Grover's expense. But he supported peace more than anything and helped quell the dark fire of revenge in Percy's heart. Turning the hatred into thoughts of his companions and what was worth fighting for.

The next was a guy named Luke Castellan. He was the first to greet the child of Poseidon giving him a warm welcome and trying to comfort him as best as possible. Luke told him that he was a child of Hermes and he was easily recognized by the large gash running from slightly above his eye to his cheek and his sandy blonde hair. Luke was the oldest of the group, so most looked to him as a leader. He would devise strategies for the others to carry out to test the defensive capability of the slave camp they were being held in. But he never seemed to care if anyone in his plan got hurt or captured which in the end led Percy to appear as a more reliable leader than Luke. The others still risked doing some of Luke's missions though and treated him with respect as to not hurt him at any point in time.

There was also Silena Beauregard, a child of Aphrodite, and Charles Beckendorf, a child of Hephaestus. They were a little younger than Luke but had been together for a little over a year. They had met inside the slave camp and had fallen in love the moment their eyes met. Beckendorf, no one else referred to him by his first name but Silena, was a strong guy with big but delicate hands, and a smiling face and gentle soul. Silena was never far from him, as they would always be seen holding hands when the guards weren't watching. She would always cheer up anyone in need and being a child of the love goddess, was very beautiful. No one could accurately describe her though many say she has blue eyes and brown hair but other descriptions have said she is blonde with brown eyes, yet all agree she is slim. Her name Silena is a variation of Selena, which means moon, her last name represents beautiful look and all agree it's an accurate name.

Bianca DiAngelo was a child of Hades and never spoke to anyone, preferring a life of solitude. Percy was the first to break through to her though. No matter how many times she walked away he would always persist in trying to talk to her. He eventually gained her trust by taking punishment for her when she was suspected of stealing. Ever since then she has always been the most loyal friend he has. Although she does get teased a lot by others, because of her seclusion, fear of her, and her closeness to Percy, but Percy always defends her. Teasing still exists in slave camps… go figure. She has always held a green floppy hat but never has worn it after Percy reached out to her. She does interact with the others just not as much as she does with Percy. Bianca has olive colored skin and deep brown eyes that bordered black, but they always seemed to get a twinkle in them when she was smiling that let everyone know she was a kind-hearted soul.

Lee Fletcher and Will Solace are two children from Apollo and they enjoy their pranks, helping lighten the mood in the group with their practical jokes when times are grim. They have similar features, sun-kissed hair and blue eyes, along with having an athletic build. Lee is just a little shorter than Will and Will never lets him forget it, constantly teasing him about his height. Lee was a better archer though; they built makeshift bows out of wood and some string and held a contest. The target was a standard bull's eye circle that was stationed fifty meters away from the archer. Will hit the ring outside the center three times while Lee hit the bull's eye with every shot. When the guards found out though the two boys were punished and went without dinner for an entire week. Will had a knack for the healing arts though even before he found out he was a child of Apollo he enjoyed helping others with injuries. He would sometimes be found studying a book of medicine in a secluded place when he was bored.

The last two in the group were a daughter of Demeter, Katie Gardner, and an average mortal name Rachel E. Dare. Katie is very kind and patient, yet passionate and willing to risk her life for the gods but she can be bossy and has a tendency to argue with the guards and anyone mean to her friends, causing her to get in trouble a lot. She has simple features but hair as brown as soil and eyes that match. Rachel had fiery red hair and bright green eyes. She loved art even in their desolate situation and loved to watch Beckendorf work in the forges. She even managed to find a sketchbook in one of the trash bins and would draw in it any free time she manages to acquire.

There was a reason why she was the only mortal in their group, other than Percy but they only thought he was mortal. Any slave was obligated to attend school for propaganda purpose and because they wanted to make sure that they could complete the tasks they were dealt, whatever it may be. In school they were taught above all else, to hate the gods; that the gods were the root of all evil and must be disposed of. So naturally hating the gods meant hating their children, and people were praised that did so. Demigods would ban together in groups to try and keep themselves happy and create their own families and very few mortal were welcome in such groups. Rachel, no matter how kind she was, was almost disregarded from their group but Percy convinced them otherwise stating that they had to move forward and create inseparable bonds to break free and disregarding help would not be wise. The reason Percy was accepted was because Grover had told the others he could tell Percy was a demigod but that he must be a child of a minor god because of his weak smell.

On the night they were going to attempt their break out Percy was taken from them. All the guard who took Percy would say is that he had been given a special honor and they would never see him again, so they might as well forget about him. The others debated on what to do, Luke stated that he was as good as dead and they should leave any way while others would say they should wait and find a way to free Percy. The many loyal to Percy would not budge even though Luke was seen as their leader. Bianca was the worst because she went back to her isolation, not talking to anyone.

That night though, the research facility where they had taken Percy went up in flames. The entire building crumbling to ashes, and all the guards were called to deal with the threat that had caused it. The guards never returned but Percy did. He came to his friends with the keys to their cells in hand freeing them all. He was different, it was plain to see something horrible had happened but he didn't say a word about what occurred inside the research building. They continued and freed everyone they could and ended up breaking out of the slave camp without one soldier coming to face them. They ran all the way to a nearby forest and to a large lake before making camp.

That was when the worst betrayal occurred. In the middle of the night the others woke up to the sound of muffled screams, what they witnessed was Luke holding Percy hostage. He had slowly lost his faith in the gods in his time in prison saying it was clear that the gods did not care about them but that at least the titans had the decency to give them a home and a family. He pleaded with all of them to join him and head to the titan capital to enlist in the military. He knew they had the potential to make it all they had to do was try. He pleaded saying that it was obvious that the titans would win out in the end and they might as well side with the winning team. At least that way they could stay together and be safe. None of the others would though, they just told Luke to drop Percy and take some time to think about what he was saying. Luke dropped his head in anger and stabbed Percy in the back before dashing off into the forest, back the way they came. The others surged forward to help their friend, but unfortunately the wound was deep, and could not be healed by either child of Apollo. So they brought him to the lake to at least try and clean the wound out, having no idea what else to do and where astonished to find the water sealing the large gash in Percy's back. It was then that they realized who the child's real father was. Bianca and Rachel were left to watch over him as he recovered while the others tried to figure out where to go from their current location.

The group of eight best friends led the group of mortals who were freed from the slave camp, through destroyed cities and lifeless sceneries Percy at their head when he had recovered. They found the weapons of fallen soldiers in one of cities and decided to take a break to try and get used to them. Beckendorf and Silena had luckily once been a part of the Greek demigod camp and helped the others learn basic sword fighting. Percy had a natural talent for it and quickly became better than anyone there. He also tried his hand at bending water to his will; that he was less good at. He had trouble even creating a constant stream. They shared all their joys, accomplishments, and hopes together as well as their fears, failures, and heart breaking pasts. All except Bianca, who would only share late night conversations with Percy. She explained how she had been kept in the underworld with her brother Nico, but then one day she had simply woken up in the mortal world being carried away in a slave caravan. She had no idea what happened to her brother or if he was even still alive. She just hoped that he hadn't shared her fate in ending up in a slave camp. He would tell her about his loving mom and his horrible stepfather. The average school he went to when he was young and how much pain he felt the day the titans had killed his mom and stepfather. They would work together on trying to wield their magic, because they were both from the big three it just seemed right for them to practice whatever they learned on each other.

Time went on as they traveled northeast hoping to find the legendary wall they had heard so much about. They rescued more civilians along the way, raiding caravans for supplies and weapons. When they finally made it to the wall they had around one hundred freed slaves and enough weapons to supply an army. The gates that stood proud and bold against any attack and which outlined the horizon throughout the day, slowly opened and troops came out to greet and usher them in. The first to talk to Percy was a girl about his age with spiky black hair and bright electric blue eyes. She was the voice of the Greek armies, and known as Black Lightning. She asked for a report about what happened and why so many civilians were here. Percy in turn asked for a place for his friends to rest before he said anything. She smirked trying to predict how long they had traveled by the conditions they were in and agreed, leading them to a nearby hotel, reserved for demigods only. She knew they were demigods just by the power that radiated off them so she thought it would be fine to allow them in. Even if they were spies, at least she could keep them confined to one place until they were cleared.

She, as procedure dictated, had each and every one of them interrogated including the mortals. All of them passed, but the oddest case came from the boy that was obviously the leader of the group. You could tell by the way the others would look to him for his voice on the matter and followed his opinion without question. As a peace offering he gave her all the armor, weapons, and recourses that they had acquired during their journey to the great wall, unless they held some personal value to any of the freed slaves or his friends. She was astonished they had managed to collect such a significant amount with such little training and small numbers. He just smiled and said it was the least they could do for taking them in. The most peculiar aspect about the boy was that he almost appeared mortal; she could hardly detect the trace of godly lineage running through his veins. When questioned about this he just said he was a child of a lesser god but didn't know which one.

The final question she asked was usually the hardest on the refugees, what happened while you were captured and is there anything significant to report? Most would tearfully reply about their experience with the titans or just say that they didn't wish to talk about it and that was understandable. The boy on the other hand kept a blank expression and told her about how his family was killed and what battle strategy he thought they used during the attack. The condition of the slave camp they were in and what patrols they used during such time. What they were taught during school there and how the gods are now symbolized as darkness and titans are the light. The factory he was taken to the night of their escape and what he learned there before escaping. The titans have developed a method for faster recoveries and that was to take a mortal host and make their body strong enough to become a vessel for a titan's essence. They could feed off their life energy and return to battle faster that way. Demigods were also being brainwashed to fight for their cause but the titans have yet to try and create their own half mortal warriors.

Once he finished this report Thalia was overwhelmed, she could hardly write it all down fast enough. Of course they had figured out some things like patrol routes for themselves, but never had they had inside information about what went on inside the many titan research facilities. Most were found abandoned by the time they arrived, with any information deleted or erased off the research terminals that were kept there.

She thanked Percy for all his help and said he was free to go back to his room. He was asked not to leave until they had confirmed his story with the others in his group. She followed him out, bumping into her best friend Annabeth while on her way to turn in her report. She and Annabeth had met each other a few years back on one of her raids and she's wanted Annabeth on every mission since. Her brilliant battle strategies have saved her squads lives a hundred times over.

As for her squad, the gods believed that unity and reliability would become the deciding factor in most battles so demigods are assigned a leader and squad that always stick together to strengthen such traits. There are free-lancers and demigods who have to be requested such as Annabeth, but for the most part a squad will remain together for the members' entire life.

Zoe Nightshade was one of the first to greet Thalia when she joined the military although it was to offer her a chance to join the hunters of Artemis, which Thalia denied. This caused their relationship to always be strained and arguments were not uncommon between the two. That was until Artemis released her hunters from duty and ordered them to join the military instead. Not knowing where else to go Thalia accepted her into her group and she became her first member, and although they still argue no one has seen a more dangerous combo than those two. Zoe has long silky black hair, which is usually pulled back into a single ponytail. She still holds hard feelings against any boy she meets thanks to her extended time in the hunters of Artemis but has learned to just keep her distance and mutter the curses she wishes to say under her breath.

Nico DiAngelo was found outside the military recruitment center one day, sleeping. When he woke up he said that he was a child of Hades and had been living his whole life in the Erebus with his elder sister Bianca. When they asked for a demonstration of his powers to confirm his story he summoned a few skeletons proving his point. He said he remembered falling asleep in his usual pattern with Bianca close by then just waking up where they found him. Thalia saw the potential in having two big three members on the same group and was the first to directly ask him to join her squad he agreed. He's quite often moody with unruly black hair, olive skin, and piercing eyes. He holds a large grudge against his sister because he feels like she abandoned him even though everyone else feels otherwise.

Clarisse LaRue is a daughter of Ares and usually leads any frontal assault with glee. She's taller and stronger than most girls, and has a nature to seek out fights but most just put that down to her father. She had stringy brown hair and matching brown eyes. The only expression you could ever see her with was a frown or a sneer. She took the initiative and asked to join Thalia's squad after finding out two children of the big three were a part of it. Her philosophy on the matter was with a stronger squad came stronger battles, and there was nothing better than a good battle.

Chris Rodriguez and Conner and Travis Stoll are three children of Hermes in Thalia's squad. They are the main source of reconnaissance and the most important participants in missions requiring stealth or speed. Conner and Travis are twins that love to play as many pranks as humanly possible and Chris is a former soldier for the titan army. Chris is also the boyfriend of Clarisse as crazy as that sounds. They met in the group and slowly became closer throughout training and mission before finally Chris admitted his feelings. They are an odd couple that raises many eyebrows but people appreciate the change of attitude in Clarisse when she's around him. Conner and Travis are identical; they are both tall and skinny with a mop of curly brown hair that hangs over their blue eyes. They both have the usual elfish features that decorate the features of many of Hermes children. Chris on the other hand is a big Hispanic teenage boy with black hair and brown eyes.

Micheal Yew is the archer of the squad and also the healer if it ever comes down to it. Even though he is the son of Apollo he has black hair and brown eyes. He's extremely short, standing he reaches about 4'6'' but many joke that he has an extra two feet of attitude. He has scrunched up features and won't except an insult, especially if it's about his height. He never misses a shot though and can be counted on to provide back up from afar.

Jake Mason is the squad mechanic or blacksmith. He repairs and builds anything the squad needs, whether if it was normal steel or a magical material, he could make it. He has a slight limp from when he and a couple other children of Hephaestus tried making a mechanical dragon. It ended up turning rampant injuring many of them and giving Jake his slight limp. Jake has short brown hair and dull blue eyes. He keeps to himself for the most part but enjoys his time within the group. While the squad is in combat, he also doesn't assist in most of the battles, he stays back and repairs the equipment after the battle is over.

Castor and Pollux are twin sons of Dionysius and when their recruiting day came they weren't exactly favorites. Many demigods saw children of Dionysius as weaknesses that shouldn't be part of the military but Thalia happily accepted them. It was soon discovered that they were decent with a sword and shield. With personal practice from Clarisse they became experts quickly and few could best them in a fight. They had curly blonde hair that few found attractive and violet eyes that many found abnormal. They mainly just shared their thoughts between themselves but loved when the squad had festivities around the town.

Annabeth Chase is the newly recruited tactician of the group and loves to play with knives. She could never explain her fascination with them merely putting it down to the way her brain was wired. Many have a tough time following what the blonde is saying but when explained slower they all have an 'ah-ha!' moment. She used to work for any group that requested a tactician but she found a sort of fulfillment with the squad, so she asked Thalia if she could become a full member a little while ago and Thalia agreed. Annabeth is blonde as stated previously and has the natural Athenian stormy grey eyes.

They are conventionally know as squad 286, because they were the two hundred eighty sixth squad founded in this war, but most refer to them as Hellfire. Many believe is was Clarisse who came up with this nickname but it stuck and it also made them feel more like a family than just being referred to as 286.

Thalia decided she could go for a drink and asked Annabeth to tag along because she knew that she interviewed one of the other demigods recently rescued. They checked their stories against one another, Annabeth had interview Charles Beckendorf. Everything was the same except for the information about the research facility, which made sense if Percy was the only one to be taken for testing.

"Must have been horrible, I feel bad for them. They had to suffer through intense labor for who knows how long." Annabeth said while flipping through what she wrote on her report.

"Well according to Percy's story it appears he was there for a little more than ten years before finally breaking out. There was another member of their group, a leader, but he betrayed them and ran off." Thalia mused to herself.

"From what I've been told their group consists of one satyr, two sons of Apollo, one daughter of Demeter, a son of Hephaestus, a daughter of Aphrodite, one daughter of Hades, and the group's leader is undefined but labeled as a son of a minor god."

"What was that about a daughter of Hades?"

"I thought that might interest you, her name is Bianca but she wouldn't give her last name for any reason. She appears to be powerful but asked to see Percy right after the interrogation was finished."

'It couldn't be Bianca DiAngelo… but I guess I better check to be safe.' "Annabeth, do you know where she went?"

"Well I would assume she would seek out Percy so wherever you sent him you'll probably find her."

"Right, okay I'll be back in a little bit. Mind turning in my report for me?"

"Sure, problem."

Thalia made her way back to the upper floors of the hotel and knocked on the door to the room the demigods were placed in. Percy was the one to answer; wearing the same blank expression she had seen him with during the interrogation.

"Thalia, how may I help you?"

"I'm looking to speak with Bianca quickly if you wouldn't mind."

"Course' not, but I hope you don't mind me listening in."

"Go right ahead, there is nothing to worry about."

He gave a quiet call back into the room and a lithe tan girl walked forward, Thalia's eye twitched a little because it was evident that this was the sister of Nico DiAngelo. They look almost too similar, almost as if they were clones.

"Hello, Bianca, I'm Thalia Grace. My squad was in charge of clearing you to enter the city. I just wanted to ask you a simple question if that is all right." She scooted a little closer to Percy her eyes darting between his face and Thalia's. He gave her a small smile and nodded at Thalia signaling that it was okay to continue.

Finding this a little odd she finished her sentence. "Your last name wouldn't happen to be DiAngelo would it?"

"How do you know that?" Her voice was a little soft it was clear she was shy. Although it was less of a question and more of a threat of a scared animal, Percy just put a hand on her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at Thalia.

"Well you see, your younger brother, Nico, is a part of my squad and has been more or less searching for you and I thought I better check to see if you had any relation to him."

"Is he here? May I speak or see him?" She had come out of her hiding spot and was now looking down the hallway to see if he was hiding from her or something.

"Unfortunately, no. Nico had been requested for a special assignment and is currently beyond the wall. I wish I could tell you when he would be back but I wasn't informed of the details." Thalia gave her an apologetic look as Bianca looked crestfallen and shuffled her way back behind Percy.

"Oh I see, well please let me know when he returns."

"Bianca do you know what happened? All Nico can recall is going to bed and waking up here. Has something happened in the Erebus, we have had very little communication with Hades in the last few weeks, although it sounds like you were both released for his domain before that."

Bianca stayed silent, and that silence quickly became awkward for Thalia, eventually Percy took the initiative.

"It's unfortunately the same for her. She fell asleep and woke up in the slave camp. She can't remember anything else than that. I'm sorry we could not help Thalia but do let us know if you need anything else from us."

"Well you wouldn't happen to be up for joining the military would you? We could always use more troops to help fight the titans, and you and your friends are obviously qualified if you were able to survive out there for so long."

Percy's eyes hardened a little but the same neutral expression appeared back on his face. "I'll have to talk about it with everyone; they aren't all here at the moment. I will let you know what their decision is later. Where could I find you?"

"Well, most likely I'll be down at the Empire State Building. I haven't gotten any missions lately so I figured I would go request one."

"Ah, I see. Then I shall head down there once we talk."

"You should have access now that you have been cleared but if not just tell them I sent for you." Thalia turned and walked away as the soft 'click' of a door closing was heard from their room.

"Well Bianca, your brother is here! Isn't that great news you can finally be reunited with him after this long time." Percy said with a grin.

"Yeah, but… it's been so long, I don't even know what to say to him… Or what he thinks of me." Bianca was looking out the window now, hands clasped together with a look of worry on her face. "Not to mention that he's outside the wall doing who knows what, he could be in danger for all I know…"

"Hey, come on now, he is a child of Hades. He has also had the time to practice his abilities, more than we have at least. I'm sure he's fine, after all the gods or whoever wouldn't send a soldier on a suicide mission. I got the impression that they need every able body they can get around here."

"Yeah, you are right… well of course you are right, you are hardly ever wrong. Speaking of that, what is your opinion on joining?"

"I don't exactly have one. Fighting the titans would mean helping innocents and saving lives, but I could never forgive myself if any of you got hurt." He looked down the ground, clenching his fists. Image flashed through his head of all his friends bloody on the ground with weapons and arrows sticking out of them at odd angles. A hand gently slid into his to give a reassuring squeeze, Bianca had a kind expression on her face as she tried to reassure her best friend.

"Percy there is no way we could get hurt with you leading us. You have always protected us before, but we can also take care of ourselves. With your help we have become strong and happy people, I think we should do it."

He smiled at her but was feeling very shy and awkward at her hand holding his so he gently slid his out and gave her a quick hug as thank you. "Still, we should wait and see what the others think. One thing is for sure, if we are going to do this, we are going to do this together. We aren't going to break up our group."

She nodded her head agreeing and then returned to the kitchen to chat and wait for everyone to show up.

. . . . .

When everyone had arrived, they discussed the pros and cons of joining the military and then held a vote. The final tally ended up being six for joining the military and two against, because Percy had decided to withdraw from the vote. The two against it were Grover and Katie Gardner, mainly because both of them despise violence of any sort, but they agreed that they should stick together so they agreed to go with the majority vote.

Percy made his way alone to the Empire State Building leaving the others to eat and enjoy themselves. He found Thalia talking rather angrily to a man at the front desk.

"… group hasn't been on a mission, since July! It's freaking October, just let me see the gods, we feel useless sitting here on our as…"

Percy cleared his throat and grabbed Thalia's shoulder to stop the imminent shouting match. "Would you excuse her for a second? Thanks a bunch." And dragged her over to a chair while she fought to get back to the front desk.

"Percy, I almost had him! He would have let me up there if you hadn't dragged me away."

Percy chuckled, "because cursing out the man your trying to get a favor from is the best strategy in this case. I just came to explain what my group decided."

"Oh, right sorry. Kinda forgot about that, my bad. So what is the word?"

"We're going to help you."

"Excellent! Now I have an excuse to go see the gods. You see every new group must go see the gods to be officially recognized as part of the military. They also decide if you need to go through the military training academy. So come on, let's go!" she grabbed Percy's hand and dragged him back to the front desk. There she proudly pointed at him, "Now you have to let me through you stupid desk clerk! This guy here is joining the military as a new squad and as you know that means he must see the gods."

The man grumbled a few complaints and handed her a key card. She snatched it and waved it in his face, gloating over her victory. She then walked over the elevator motioning for Percy to follow. Percy shook his head wondering how a person could be so calm and collected while talking to him and then turn into an excited animal the next. He did make note that he probably didn't want to get on her bad side through.

On the elevator she let out a breath and smiled at Percy. "Olympus is quite the site; it's the home of the gods other than the original Mount Olympus in Greece." The elevator let out a soft 'ding' when they reached floor 500 and the doors slid open. The gleaming city of Olympus stood before the two, with shops and restaurants bustling with activity, it was apparent that some buildings were built more recently than others. Most looked like military headquarters or armories.

Thalia was surprised that Percy didn't react at all; he merely took a slow glance around and continued walking forward. Most would gasp loudly and have their jaw drop to the ground. She led the way to the Great hall where the gods would assemble to discuss anything important.

When they entered, there were only four gods in the chamber: Zeus, Hera, Hermes, and Athena.

Percy was a little relieved his father wasn't present; he still wasn't ready to face him yet. The thought of meeting the man who had actually been with his mom… the thought made him want to vomit. Thalia walked forward and bowed in front of Zeus. He figured she was his daughter, when he first saw her; her azure blue eyes reminded him of the sky and all the power it held. He followed suit just to be safe. Offending immortal beings was not extremely high on his to do list, although the feeling it would happen sooner than later was all too present.

"Father," she waited for his approval to speak. When he nodded, she continued. "I have two matters to discuss with you. The first was a request from Percy; he wishes to enlist in our military. He does have a group of friends who are willing to be his squad. I assume he would act as the commanding member seeing as they all look to him as their leader. He is the child of an unidentified minor god though, but they have succeeded in making it the wall and rescuing many civilians on the way."

Zeus looked the boy over trying to estimate his power but he couldn't see much. When he glanced at the boy upon his entering he felt a radiance of power, but when he inspected him closer it was as if everything was distorted almost as if a fog was blanketing the boy. So he turned to his daughter, deciding to leave the decision up to her. "What is your opinion on the matter Thalia? Do you feel that his squad would be well enough prepared to skip training?"

"I can't say. It is admirable that they were able to travel through titan territory and reach the wall, but I have not seen any of them in combat personally nor have I had time to judge how strong each of them are."

"Hmm, and what of your other request?"

"Well I came to ask any of you for a quest. My squad hasn't done anything in a while and we are all getting a little edgy... or bored depending on who you ask."

Zeus' eyes became cold but an idea sprung into his head that made him smirk in triumph. "Well Thalia, if you indeed want a mission I have a perfect one for you. You will spend a week with Percy and his group; have them do some training exercises with you. Then at the end of the week hold a capture the flag game. If they beat you in this game they shall skip training, if they lose it will be your call on what happens to them."

"Father, that's not what I…"

"That is the mission assigned to you, take it or return to your posts at the wall."

"Fine," She glared at Zeus anger darkening her features. "But Lord Zeus, if you are doing this to keep your precious daughter, safe then you are making a mistake. My team is one of the most capable ones you have and keeping us locked up inside the wall is doing a lot more harm than good." She turned and stormed out of the throne room. Percy turned to the gods and shrugged, bowing slightly he made his way outside to find Thalia kicking a tree saying curses under her breath.

"Daddy issues?" he joked. She turned and tried to kick him instead but he stepped out of the way. "Hey listen, I'm sure it must be hard having an over protective dad, but at least you know he cares about you. You can at least take some pleasure in that, right?" Thalia held her intense gaze on him for a while before dropping it to the ground.

"Yeah, I guess so. So, it appears that I'm going to be seeing a lot of you and your friends this coming week. Training with us is hard though, so if at any time you feel like quitting just let me know okay?"

"Is that a challenge? I think we will do fine, don't worry about us. Thanks for the concern though."

Thalia watched him walk away; many people had said that to her before but most of them quit before the end of the week. She couldn't help but think that Percy might be the same way. It made her sad for some reason, maybe it was because Percy had been nice to her or that he might be forced into a civilian camp even though he could be a great help.

She thought back to the first time she saw him and how the great prophecy appeared in her mind when her eyes met his. It was an odd occurrence, everyone believed that she was the child mentioned in it but it never seemed right to her. She put it down to denial but it had been the only thought on her mind when she met Percy. But it couldn't be him; the prophecy specifically mentions that a child of the big three is the one who will end the war. She gave up thinking about it and made her way to give the news to her squad, the sea green eyes of a mysterious boy still lingering in her thoughts as she made her way out of the city of the gods.

**So that is chapter one, please let me know what you thought of it. Sorry for not writing much dialect but I wanted to try writing a majority of third-person, just to see how it was. I hope I did an okay job depicting the characters but let me know if something didn't sound right or anything. Thank you Garret, Callum, and Fractured by Design you guys were a great help. I hope everyone returns November first for the next chapter. Have a good month.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone so I forgot to mention a few differences between my story and the book, it's nothing major I believe but you might get confused if you don't know. As much as I liked Riordan's explanation for ADHD and dyslexia I decided to leave demigods without that characteristics. There's probably more that I'll remember later on but I can't recall any other changes I made to the original plot. I debating whether or not to incorporate the original story arc of PJO into my story or not so let me know what you think of that. Also there will be a love triangle between Percy Bianca and Thalia and haven't really decided who Percy should be with just yet so that's why I'm changing the pairing marked in the summary. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter although I felt like it was a little choppy in parts and that displeased me. Let me know what you thought please. **

**Thanks to…**

**rmitz53****- Thank you for the review.**

**xRinneandSharinx****- Thank you for review and that's exactly where I'm going with this. I'm still not sure exactly who I want Percy to be with, but I at least have some time to figure it out.**

**Fractured by Design****- Thank you for the review and reading my story let me know if anything sticks out to you.**

**dogbiscuit1967****- Thank you for following my story and wishing me a happy birthday. I am curious about his next series though.**

**senpen banka- ****Thank you I'm putting in a lot of effort trying to make this story as ideal as possible, I hope you enjoy everything that is to come and let me know if you don't like anything.**

**microzombie- ****Well since I do not wish to suffer at all I guess I might as well update. I know about the typos and nothing aggravates me more than misspellings so I'll try to fix those as much as possible. I'll check my reviews for my other story but what did you think about it? Hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**Everyone and anyone who is reading or ever will read this.**

**All my friends who are reading this from my school- You are so awesome thank you so much for this.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

It was the start of the week of training for Percy's group, who had been dubbed squad 312. Since it was just the first day, Thalia had voted to just work on swordplay, although she allowed the use of any weapon you were comfortable with. Since squad 312 had nine members and Hellfire had 11 members with Nico being gone, each squad had one member left over. Percy and Thalia being those people agreed to train against one another. Thalia was planning on taking it easy on him, thinking that some child of a minor god could never beat a daughter of the Lord of the sky. She even decided to use a sword instead of her spear.

They stood a few feet apart, Percy bowing a little. She disliked all his bowing it was getting on her nerves so she made the first move intending to teach Percy not to bow before a battle but he saw the attack coming and side stepped. Percy stayed on the defensive, dodging or parrying any attack Thalia made.

Percy could tell that a sword wasn't natural to her; the fighting style she used was slightly more crude and undisciplined. So he had no intention of fighting full force if she wasn't either.

Thalia's irritation slowly intensified until she was trying to kill the little pest that thought he was so good in front of her. Percy continued to dodge and parry hardly breaking a sweat. All other battles had stopped, every other person wanting to see what was happening between the two leaders. Cheers started to arise from the members of squad 312 as shouts of anger and encouragement came from squad 286. The fight ended with Percy's first attack, which disarmed Thalia.

She was stunned and humiliated; she had lost to the person who had just entered the military while she had been a part of it from a young age. Not to mention that her whole squad had seen her blunder, excluding Nico of course. What made it worse was when Percy tried to offer advice while picking up her sword.

"Your anger made your moves sporadic and meaningless. You had a better chance against me when you were taking it easy." He lifted her sword up, hilt facing her. "Don't under estimate an enemy daughter of Zeus, it could very well be your down fall."

Clarisse wasn't just going to except and insult against their leader and made a move to punch Percy only to have Bianca slap her and away and raise her sword in defense of Percy. The two squads were about to break into a fight when both leaders told the others to calm down.

Thalia looked back to Percy once the others had been separated to opposite sides. "You're right of course that was my mistake," she drew her spear and shield. "But it won't happen again, let's see what you're really made of."

Percy grinned, relieved that Thalia was finally going to take training with him seriously. "Good." He readied his sword with a calm expression covering his features.

"Twenty bucks on Thalia!" someone shouted from the group, most likely one of the Stroll brothers. Soon everyone was shouting how much money they placed on either of the two fighters.

Thalia was once again the first one to strike, trying to bash Percy with her shield and then use her spear to try and get his neck, next to his neck of course, she wouldn't kill a potential ally. Percy took the shield bash and raised his sword to knock the spear off course. He retaliated with a sweep at her feet, which she jumped over. He came up spinning and trying to get a winning strike. She blocked the strike with her shield and made multiple jabs at him with her spear. Percy's calm expression never faltered as he dodged each of them as he slid his blade along her spear going in for a finishing strike. Thalia gracefully dodged it and slammed her shield against the shaft of her spear to trap the blade of the sword. She jerked her hands away ripping the blade from Percy's grasp. She thought she had won but Percy processed this quicker than she expected and swept her feet out from under her. He grabbed his blade as she fell and kicked her shield away to tear it away. He pointed the tip of his blade at her neck only to find her spear at his throat in return.

There was silence from the crowd until one of them muttered, "Thalia disarmed Percy first, and I would say she won…"

"No way, did you see that awesome move Percy pulled? It was obvious enough to me that he is the winner here."

The two groups surged forward ready to fight again, the two leaders trying to get their groups under control. After both groups were ordered to return to practicing, Thalia and Percy shook hands agreeing that the duel was a draw and Thalia accepting Percy was not a person to take lightly. He walked to a nearby water cooler to rest while she went to monitor the others in her group.

. . . . .

The week passed with days worked on fighting and days reserved for tactics, but at long last the game of capture the flag had arrived. Since most people didn't feel like walking all the way to Long Island Sound to have an occasional game of CTF, they built an indoor arena that most people use today. Each group placed their flag on opposite sides of whatever terrain they wished for. Thalia had chosen jungle because that was what she was accustomed to fighting in. She couldn't very well lose to a new comer in a game like this; it would be a huge embarrassment to her squad.

Anyone was allowed to come and watch the game; apparently word had gotten around how strong Percy was and quite a crowd formed in the stands surrounding the battlefield. The crowd mainly consisted of military troops, nature spirits, and satyrs because mortals didn't care about the games demigods played. Capture the flag games had become almost as popular as any sporting event and depending on who was fighting sometimes citizens from all over Elpída would come to watch the fight. There would be a spectator fee for anyone willing to watch two or more squads fight, which would help fund the city and the war effort.

Percy had allowed her to maintain her full squad even though they had two more members than he had on his squad, saying that it would be pointless not to practice as a full team because that would ruin the point. Each team separated to their assigned sides. Percy's squad had been given armor that was outlined in blue; Thalia's squad had armor outlined in red and both flags matching said colors. A three-minute countdown began to signal the start of the game, which meant that you had three minutes to make a plan and set defenses before the other team could cross the midpoint of the battlefield. Thalia decided to leave the strategizing up to Annabeth, who decided to leave four people on immediate defense, four people would float around the middle helping with defense or offense accordingly, and three would be left with only offense. It was their usual strategy, but Percy had never seen it before so it should work well. Zoe, Clarisse, and Thalia would be on offense; Castor, Pollux, and the stroll twins would be the middle floaters; leaving Annabeth, Jake, Chris, and Micheal on the defensive line. Annabeth knew that Percy was their strongest fighter so she expected him to go straight for the flag; she alerted everyone that he would have to be taken down quickly for an easy victory. The other worry would be Bianca because she was a child of the big three. They didn't know how much of her power she could use but shadow travel could destroy their defensive line. She wanted Lee to stay in a tree somewhere where he could monitor everywhere around the flag. The others should be relatively easy to take down so just stick to what they normally did.

Once the entire squad was set up there was only fifteen seconds left on the clock. The tension began to rise as the last few seconds clicked away. Three… two… one… and then a loud horn sounded signifying the start of the game. Thalia's group dashed off, Zoe heading to the right and Clarisse going down the left. Thalia went straight down the middle, but encountered relatively no resistance. At first she was relieved thinking this might be an easy win and she could go home, but the relief quickly turned to fear as she wondered what Percy had planned. She made her way carefully through the forest until she found a clearing, the flag was visible a little ways away from her and so was Percy he was waiting patiently holding two swords in his hands.

"Hey Thal's, you about ready to start or what?" He asked as he readied himself. Thalia smirked this time she wouldn't lose; she would beat Percy, get the flag, and make it back over in no time. She hefted her spear up and charged.

Clarisse was bulldozing her way across the forest, her only goal was to find someone to crush in a fight, and then she would worry about the flag. She finally saw someone in full armor running away from her. She laughed and increased her speed catching up to the fleeing person. The figure stopped and turned, it was Beckendorf. He raised his war hammer and blocked the quick strike Clarisse had attacked with. He stayed on the defensive, just keeping her in one place, she was wondering what this punks deal was when in the background she heard the faint sound of a pan flute being played. She cursed and looked down but it was already too late. Large vines sprouted from the ground and started to entangle her, they left only her head open for her to breath. Beckendorf smiled and knocked her out with a hit to the head. A large buzz sounded letting everyone one a warrior had been defeated. A tired Grover and Katie came out from behind some foliage and high fived at what they had accomplished. The two then retreated to help on defense while Beckendorf started moving forward to assist with offense.

Zoe was running through the forest dodging arrows, the two sons of Apollo found her and had been pursuing her for the last couple of minutes, she heard the buzz indicating that a warrior had fallen and could only hope it was one of the opposing teams members. She jumped behind a tree as an arrow flew past her.

"It would seem that thou art trying to kill me instead of knock me out!" she yelled to the treetops.

"We could never be so cruel." One of the brothers replied, Zoe smirked he had just given away his position. She drew her bow and fired a few shots from where his voice came from. "Got to be quicker than that!" Came a reply from the opposite direction. Zoe dodged a few more arrows and started to run again.

"Gods, where is the back up from the mid lines…" she mutter. She heard the crunching of footsteps behind her and drew her hunting knives. The mortal girl, Rachel, was the attacker. She had a sword and shield but Zoe was more proficient with her hunting knives than Rachel and her swordplay. Zoe was about to strike the final blow when an arrow stuck to her back and a large amount of electricity flowed through her body. She collapsed on the ground unconscious and the arena rang again indicating another fallen competitor, while Will and Lee jumped down off of the trees they were hiding in.

"Come on Will, she almost beat me there, couldn't you have been a little faster? And she's all right, right? I don't really feel like being a sixteen year old murderer." Rachel said while nudging the unconscious body of Zoe.

"Sorry Rachel, we were just having too much fun watching you fight Zoe. It was all like, 'Hyah!' and 'Clash!' and man oh man were you losing!" Both Will and Lee started laughing until an enraged Rachel punched them both in the shoulder. They eventually settled down and went to go help Bianca and Beckendorf on offense.

Bianca had taken two of the members in the middle and led them away from their side acting as if she was going for the flag. Luckily the Stoll brothers fell for it and chased after her. Once she was a good distance away she stopped and turned to face her opponents.

"Just remember what Percy said, breath and be calm and just imagine exactly what you are trying to do." she muttered to herself and took a deep breath before extending her hand outwards. She had always had trouble with her power but Percy had been trying to help her at night, she just hoped she could do this. "Serve me…"

Three skeletal figures broke through the surface, clawing their way into the daylight. They were each armored and went to work on attacking the bewildered Stoll brothers. Bianca was so happy with herself she did a little triumphant cheer, then she recalled what was going on and helped her skeletons knock out the two sons of Hermes. Two more sirens sounded when they were sleeping heaps on the ground. Bianca let out a sigh and sat down to regain her bearings but she sent her skeletons to go help Beckendorf. She thought to herself proudly, 'I did it Percy, wish you could've seen it.'

Beckendorf was struggling against the twin sons of Dionysius fighting two opponents at once was difficult enough but the twins worked in tandem, using one another's moves to open up places to strike in the targets defense. Beckendorf already had many cuts and bruises along his arms from their tag team fighting style. They knocked his hammer out of his hands and forced him against a tree ready to make the finishing blow. They raised their swords together when there was a call came out from behind them.

"Charlie!" Silena through her sword into the air for Beckendorf to catch, while the brothers made the mistake of looking behind them. Beckendorf caught the sword used the base of the blade to hit the back of Pollux's head. He went down as his brother turned around to face Beckendorf again. What he saw was Beckendorf's perplexed expression. He wouldn't fall for that dumb trick so he raised his sword again only to have another blade hit the back of his head. The three skeletons looked at the body before them, then bowed and sunk back into the Earth.

"Well looks like Bianca was able to use some magic… Good for her." Beckendorf gave Silena a hug and she started laughing.

"You should've seen your face it was priceless. Are you okay Charlie? Looks like you got a couple scratches on your arm." She lifted his arm to examine the damage and frowned at him. "Silly, why did you have to go and hurt yourself?"

"Silena, I really don't think this is the time to be worrying about that, we still have to go capture the flag than we can discuss my damage, okay?"

"Fine." She nodded her head and both of them continued onwards towards the flag.

It was six on four for the battle of the flag, but Annabeth had plenty of time to set traps all around the area. With all the sirens blaring she had expected the worst and had Jake craft some devious mechanisms to help them with defending the flag. Lee was defeated when the branch he was perched on snapped from where it was cut. Then Micheal took him out with a well-placed arrow, and Silena and Beckendorf fell in a pit trap that was much too deep to escape; and even if they could reach the ledge, the weighted net on top would prevent them from leaving. So it ended up being Bianca, Will, and Rachel versus Annabeth, Micheal, Chris, and Jake.

"Aim for the daughter of Hades before she can summon anything!" Annabeth called out.

Micheal reacted by rapidly releasing the arrows in his quiver at Bianca. The last arrow he fired was an arrow filled with smoke, he then jumped down from the tree and drew a sword and charged along with Jake and Chris while Annabeth stayed back to defend the flag.

Forgetting about the flag Will and Rachel went over to help their friend. The warriors in Hellfire were talented but they didn't have as strong of teamwork as the members of squad 312. When someone would strike the other two would act as defense it might take a while to bring an opponent down this way but it also diminished the probability for friendly casualties. Will ended up knocked out because he was used to fighting from afar. But they were able to take down the three members from Hellfire. Annabeth was now in a two on one battle if she lost, the game was over.

The other two girls were a little overconfident and made a quick strike to get in close. Of course since Annabeth wielded a knife close combat was her specialty. She grabbed Rachel's arm and pulled her forward. With the forward momentum Annabeth slammed her weapon to back of Rachel's helmet. Rachel crumpled to the ground groaning in pain as Annabeth turned her attention to Bianca. They waited for one another to make the first move, so at first it was just an intense starring eye contest. Annabeth made a slice with her dagger than tried to move in close to get the advantage but Bianca deflected the attack and moved away. Bianca closed her eyes and tried to concentrate and summoning more undead minions, but when she opened her eyes she was behind Annabeth.

"What the heck happened…" she looked around confused. Annabeth turned around and refocused on her enemy.

"So you do know how to shadow travel… but why not do it in the beginning of the match? That makes no sense."

"Shadow travel, what are you talking about…" Bianca collapsed on the ground, she's never been the best at using her abilities and it tires her out fast. With Bianca out of the fight only three warriors were left on the battlefield: Percy, Thalia, and Annabeth.

. . . . .

Percy and Thalia both were on the ground breathing heavily. One of Percy's swords lay somewhere in the woods and Thalia's shield was sitting at the edge of a nearby lake. Percy had a large cut on his right leg and Thalia had a sprained left ankle. Percy clothes and armor were blackened from multiple blasts of lightning. Thalia had many gashes across her arms and chest from Percy's swords. Thalia clenched her teeth and stood up, Percy had put up quite the challenge but she had been counting the sirens, if she was correct three were people left. If you removed Thalia and Percy because of their stalemate, that left only one person. She was confident her team had beaten his, but it still amazed her that he had been able to take down the majority of her squad. Hellfire was ranked number one out of all the groups so to achieve this meant that they definitely deserved to skip training. She yelled and charged Percy stood up and jumped to the side dodging the attack, but landing on his bad leg made him wince. Thalia swore she saw Percy's eyes flash a brilliant gold for a second and then he brought down his sword on the shaft of her spear… The force snapped the bronze shaft in half and the magical energy contained within the spear discharged with extreme force basting both of them back. Percy crashed into the rock where the second half of the spear had landed and Thalia hit a tree on the far side of the lake.

Thalia shook her head clearing her head of disarray. She looked down at her broken spear, saddened to see it in such a state. It was the first gift her dad had given her when she had graduated the training academy. She had blocked many attacks with the shaft of her spear before but it had never broken or even dented, she wondered how Percy had managed to spilt it in half. That reminded her that she was technically still engaged in a battle. She looked around to find Percy gripping his head and shaking it all around, he then stood up and rubbed the back of his head and his lower back. When their gazes met Percy's eyes widened in fear and he made his way quickly to her side.

He looked over face before shaking his head in disbelief. "You don't even realize your bleeding right now do you?"

"What are you talking," he grabbed her hand gently and rested it on her side. A warm liquid started to coat her hand making her gasp aloud; judging by the speed of the flow the wound was deep.

She felt around and felt a sharp point sticking out making her gasp. Now that she knew about the wound it started to hurt more and more until pain flooded her mind. She grabbed the sharp object and with a painful cry slowly pulled it out. When it was in her hand she was crying but she could tell it was a part of her spear it somehow managed to lodge in her side. When she examined the bloody piece of metal in her hand she realized it was the tip along with a splintered part of the shaft. It didn't make sense how the part that was pointed at Percy somehow ended up in her side, but Thalia couldn't think about anything but the pain for now. She felt arms wrap around her back and under her legs and lift her up. The movement caused the pain to worsen and she tried to cry out for Percy to stop but she couldn't even whisper much less shout. She could barely make out the words Percy was saying, telling her to keep pressure on it and breathe. She felt cool water and figured she had been set down in the lake. She looked up to see the sea green eyes of Percy, a small sad smile gracing his lips as he laid his hand over the wound. Water instantly flowed over the cut and started to heal it. She could feel a cool relief start to spread throughout her body. The water was slowly sealing the wound, leaving just a fresh scar in place of the gory wound that was present only seconds before. She closed her eyes enjoying the relieving sensation flowing outwards from the wound, and when she reopened them she found herself on the land. She sat up and felt no more pain or tension anywhere on her body. She saw Percy looking pale sitting next her, she reached out and touched him. She didn't know why she did it but she did. It made her cheeks heat up, but the blush turned into anger when she put together what just happened. She grabbed both of his shoulders and made him look at her.

"You're a son of Posi-hmmm!" Percy had put a hand over her mouth, to cut her off. He just nodded but held a finger up to his lips. Then he let go and laid back down. "Why did you lie to me? It's not like it will get you arrested or anything."

"I can't really tell you why, something just told me I shouldn't reveal who my father was, so I didn't. I've learned to trust my instincts, which is why I'm asking you not to tell anyone, like your friend who is running this way."

"What about all people in the audience? Wouldn't they see what just happened? They will come to the same conclusion as I did."

"And how would they see us if there are trees blocking all view from the sides and we already destroyed any cameras in the area?"

Thalia looked around and saw broken camera's hanging from a couple of branches. "Well you thought of everything didn't you?" She looked away still angry that Percy had never told her of his true lineage. She blew out a puff of air and swallowed her pride. "Thank you by the way."

"For what?"

"Well you kind of saved my life, ya know? I was losing a lot of blood from that wound. I'm not really sure what would have happened if I had to be taken to the hospital; it could've taken too long and I might have died or something, as I said I don't know what would have happened."

"Don't mention it, it was nothing."

"You do realize you just said my life was worth nothing right?" Percy laughed at the realization. The laugh made Thalia smile because she had never heard his true laugh. Sure he would chuckle from time to time or laugh if it was respectful but nothing compared to his true sincere laugh. It was a little contagious and soon enough she was laughing and smiling right beside him.

Annabeth came into the clearing where they were sitting. She looked at both of them, Percy and Thalia laughing on the ground next to a big tree, both looking exhausted.

"Um, aren't the two of you supposed to be fighting or something… pretty sure the opposing teams aren't meant to be sky gazing together."

Thalia blushed and stood up. She looked down to find Percy dozing in the grass. "Wasn't he just laughing though?" He looked very peaceful laying there it made her smile again. "Come on Annabeth, I'm calling this a draw."

"What? But Thalia! We won, the flag is right there and their last fighter is sleeping in the grass! Come on Thalia!" Annabeth was dragged away by Thalia as they went to go pull the 'end game' lever. Nature spirits came out to help take away any injured player. Thalia watched each person get carried away to the infirmary for a checkup, tuning out Annabeth's speech about every logical reason they should've won.

**So there is chapter two, I really do hope you enjoyed it and if you didn't you explain to me why so that I may improve my writing in the future. I hope everyone has been having a good day or month I should say, and that everything is going well for anyone reading. Reviews, follows and favorites are greatly appreciated but it won't kill me if you don't so no worries. Halloween just passed and thanksgiving is just around the corner so I hope everyone has a great November.**


	3. Chapter 3

**How was everyone's November? Excellent I hope? I glad that many of you have continued reading after the first chapter and stayed with me even though I have long breaks in between updates. **

**Thanks to…**

**rmitz53****-**

**xRinneandSharinx****- **

**Fractured by Design****- **

**dogbiscuit1967****- Thank you! I was worried the capture the flag game dragged on and was a little slow so people would enjoy it. Yeah I am pushing towards Percy and Thalia being a couple even with Bianca in the picture because I think they are cute together… yeah.**

**senpen banka- **

**microzombie- ****You are a nice person and thank you for the review. Your bickering comment brings up a lot of ideas that I would love to incorporate within my story so thank you for that as well. Now that you said it I agree with you, I love how they fight a lot even though they are friends. Just a little warning Perlia will be more evident in later chapters rather than the first few but don't worry I have a lot of ideas I hope you'll enjoy. Oh, and thank you for complimenting my story, I too wish I had worked harder on it, putting as much time into it as this one.**

**NinjaFang1331****- Thank you for taking the time to review and read my story, and not to worry about Perlia even though I incorporated Bianca into my story I still ship Perlia more. I'm glad you liked the battle scene I thought it wasn't my best work and people wouldn't like it so it makes me happy every time someone comments on it. **

**prince of the seas****- Thank you for taking the time to review and read my story, I'm glad you liked it. **

**Everyone and anyone who is reading or ever will read this.**

**All my friends who are reading this from my school- You are so awesome thank you so much for this.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

Bianca slowly opened her eyes to find white walls all around her. She let her eyes adjust and looked around the room. For a second she expected to be back at the slave camp and that she had been taken for testing, but the memory of everything that has happened since then, slowly returned and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey sleepy head, you doing all right?" Percy was sitting in a chair by the door. He smiled at her and she returned it gratefully, then she recalled the battle of capture the flag.

"Percy, I used my magic! I was able to summon three skeletons and also do this weird shadow travel thing! What was the outcome of that battle?"

"It was called as a draw by Thalia." Bianca swung her legs over the bed and tried to stand. Her legs were still shaky and unsteady though, right as she was about fall Percy caught her and helped her back up. "Careful there, you've been asleep for a full day. Guess that magic took a lot out of you huh. But don't get me wrong, I'm extremely proud of you for using some magic. Now your clothes are on that desk, why don't you get ready and meet me outside, okay? Take as much time as you need." He set her down back on her bed and left the room.

Bianca did as requested and got dressed; she hadn't even realized that she was in a medical gown rather than her normal clothes. She checked her hair in a mirror and then proceeded outside to meet Percy. He was sitting on a short wall staring at the sky but he noticed her approach and jumped down.

"Hey B, you were the last to be released from the infirmary, but the others wanted to celebrate how well we did in capture the flag and the fact that we don't have to attend training. They elected to have dinner at some fancy restaurant that's in the civilian district. They even wanted to invite Thalia's squad. But of course we couldn't do it without you, so what do ya say?"

"Sounds wonderful Percy, but what time would this dinner be at?"

"Late tonight, anything planned?"

"Oh come on, you know I don't. I'm just hungry right now is all…" she blushed and Percy laughed.

"Well that does make sense, you used a lot of energy in that battle. No worries though, lunch is on me then. Where do you want to eat?"

"I don't know I've never really had time to look at what's around here."

"Guess it's time for a little stroll around town then huh? Come on the food district is this way."

They wondered around town, Percy pointing out good restaurants he had heard about and Bianca thinking about what she wanted for lunch. They eventually found a Mexican café that Bianca decided was the perfect place for lunch. Bianca hadn't had good Mexican food in a very long time but she recalled that her mother would always take her and Nico out after church to a small Mexican restaurant. The thought made her a little sad but then she remembered whom she was here with and realized there was no way she could be sad with Percy around. They were a little noisy in the café but they didn't care, they just wanted to have a good time. So they shared jokes and played little games with each other while they ate.

. . . . .

Squad 312 had officially been recognized as combat ready and had been given permission to skip the training academy thanks to Thalia's recommendation. Because of that each member was awarded their own room, unless you wanted to room with someone else of the same gender.

Percy opened the door to his new room and had a look around. It was pretty simple compared to some of the rooms he had seen from veterans, other know as Hellfire's members. Thalia explained to him how you were allowed to customize your room however you wanted but that it cost quite a bit to do so. Doing missions was the easiest way for squads to earn money, but you could also take jobs in the civilian district if you disliked leaving the wall. She showed a couple of example rooms like Annabeth, Jakes, and her own.

Percy threw the little belongings he had on his bed and went to take a shower. He let the refreshing water relax his tired muscles. He was still feeling the after effects of healing Thalia. It practically drained him of all the energy he had. He still wasn't the best and using magic, but he had improved significantly since first escaping the slave camp. When he figured he had been in there long enough he dried himself off and put on some fresh clothes. He noticed an odd bronze pen on his bed along with a light blue letter and a large leather pouch. He picked up the pen first and twirled it around his fingers, examining every detail on it. Anaklusmos was written along its side in black so it stood out across the bronze base color. Then Percy picked up the blue letter, it smelled of the sea and he knew who had sent it, which made his face pale. He gently slid his finger across the opening and lifted the flap. He slid the soft paper out of its confines and read it a little apprehensively.

Dear Percy,

I do not understand the reason why you have chosen to with hold the information of being my son but I will respect your decision. Know that I love you even though I have not been around your entire life. There are probably many occasions you wish I had been there for you and I am sorry that I was absent. You will notice the pen on your bed; it is a sword known as Anaklusmos, or riptide. It was meant for you but it does have quite a dismal backstory that I will not explain because there is no reason to dwell on dark pasts. To release the sword simply remove the cap, it is celestial bronze like most Greek weapons so it specializes in destroying monsters. The other item I left you is a large sum of gold. I have watched you for a long time so I know where you came from and I also realize you don't have that many clothes. This way you can get some good clothes and equipment for you and your squad. I believe I left roughly nine hundred drachma's…"

Percy eye's widened and he dropped the pen. His eyes were twitching with disbelief as he trailed his gaze over to the leather sack. It definitely wasn't big enough to hold that much money, so perhaps his dad had a twisted sense of humor and he was raising Percy's hopes for a quick laugh. The part that made him question what the letter said was that drachma's were worth one-hundred dollars each, and even though his dad was a god, and a big one for that, it was hard to believe that his dad would just toss nine thousands to his son with out a second thought. He pushed the thought aside and continued reading.

… and you can do what you want with that. Don't judge the bag on its size; although it may look small it has been enchanted to carry an infinite amount of wealth but can only be opened by your hand. Think of both of these items as an apology from me for not being there for you and a present for completing training. Know that I will be watching Percy and I will be proud of you no matter what. Till we meet again my son.

~Poseidon

He loosened the string that kept the pouch closed and reached his hand in. He caught his breath when he felt coins brush his hand, but there was way to many to count. He could move his hand left and right and never hit the side of the pouch and he was pretty sure he could fit his whole arm inside it and still find no end to the limitless space inside the enchanted sack. He glanced at the alarm clock sitting on a nightstand. It was 1:30 p.m. and the dinner wasn't until 9:00. He grabbed the pouch and slid it in his pocket and made his way to the door.

. . . . .

He was wondering around the shopping district trying to find a weapons shop. He wasn't going to go shopping for clothes unless it was with his friends but he owed a certain daughter of Zeus something he accidently broke. It took a long time but he finally found a good black smith and he specialized in spears, what luck. Percy asked for his best and he was handed a large spear that was made of celestial bronze on one side but had a second head on the bottom that was crafted from imperial gold. Percy had only heard of the sacred material that the romans used but it certainly looked stunning. He gave the shop keep three drachma's for it. He was kind enough to give Percy a discount for being in the military and made his way back uptown to head the celebratory dinner.

. . . . .

Turns out he was an hour early, which did not bode well because he detested waiting. He hopped onto the edge of a wall and started watching all the citizens walk by. Most were with their family and friends and they appeared happy enough but he could always see a little lingering sadness and fear behind their joyful expressions. He could see lingering traces of culture before the war. There was a group of teenagers heading to the mall enjoying there weekend, sharing inside jokes and having a good time together. But the feeling of lingering despair, hidden behind their exteriors, was still present. It made Percy grind his teeth in hatred. He wouldn't be so angry if the titans had just decided to attack the gods, but they also tore away so many people from their innocent lives and for that he could never forgive the titans. When he pulled himself from his conscious noticed a friendly game of basketball going on a public court. He debated joining for a while before his boredom won out and he asked. He, by any means, wasn't as good as Will and Lee, but he liked to think he wasn't bad either. At least it was something to pass the time. He didn't work as hard as he could because he didn't want to be sweaty and smelly for he dinner but he found he could easily out run any of the other kids. He actually found himself getting into the game and lost track of time. That was until someone called out his name. He looked to the fence to find Bianca trying to hide a smile behind her hand. She was dressed rather nicely for not having many clothes still, but all the attention turned towards her anyway.

"Come on Percy, I was a little early but the others should be getting here soon."

The other guys playing muttered to themselves and some of them patted Percy on the back.

"Dude, nice catch."

Percy didn't know what the boy had meant by that but suddenly Bianca turned red and found the ground extremely interesting. Percy gathered his belongings including the spear that was hidden in a blanket and went to go meet Bianca. She still wasn't looking at him and blushing, so he thought they might have said something to insult her that he hadn't caught. When he asked she just furiously shook her head no and tried to change the subject by asking how his day had gone.

He told her about what Poseidon had given him for successfully joining the military and she seemed just as surprised as he did. She explained how her father had given her a stygian iron sword but not nearly as much spending money. She joked that she should get more since her father controlled all of the wealth under the earth. She had spent a little of the money on the nice dress she was wearing now, but the dress made her feel self conscious and she wished she had just stayed in her regular clothes. Percy complimented the outfit and reassured her that wearing the dress was perfectly fine. They talked for about ten minutes before the others started to show up, everybody was dressed as formally as they could get. You could tell that the members of hellfire were much more wealthy than squad 312 just by looking at their clothes. They weren't dressed like they were going to a royal event or anything but their clothes still looked much nicer than Percy's friends' clothes. They all greeted each other by the front door of the restaurant, although some of the greetings held no warmth, apparently some of the group still harbored hard feelings against squad 312 for the capture the flag game. So a casual hello was all that was said between the two teams.

They had a reservation luckily; the restaurant was packed full, and getting a table for twenty when just walking in almost never happened. It was a large circular table with a couple of candles sitting in the middle. A mixture of nature spirits, mortals, and even a couple demigods who preferred to not join the war ran the restaurant. It was renown for its large variety of food from American to Mexican, and European to Asian. You could never go wrong at that restaurant because they could make almost anything. They even accepted specialized orders from customers, such as aluminum for satyrs. Percy sat down and Thalia sat to his right and Bianca to his left. Grover sat all the way on the other side of the table with Annabeth next to him; they were the dividing point between the teams. Everyone to the left of Percy and to the right of Grover was on Squad 312; everyone on Percy right and Grover's left was on squad 286. Percy was a little saddened to see the two squads not getting along well because something told him they would be working together in the future. He let it go, Percy was sure as soon as the teams had a little time to let off their anger they would be like family.

When the members in his group opened their menus their mouths started to water, but then they remembered that they didn't have much money and should try to conserve the little they had. That's when Thalia started to speak up.

"Don't worry about paying, tonight's dinner is on me, Zeus paid me for training you guys. You could say he was a little more than generous in his amount but he said that I could use some of it for this dinner."

Percy flashed Thalia a grateful smile started to talk with his squad, which was easy because he considered them family. Once drinks and food started to be passed out most of the tension between the squad disappeared. They all started talking and making jokes. Beckendorf and Clarisse even had an arm wrestle. It was a close call but Beckendorf ended up losing when Silena stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Everybody laughed at how red his face was, Clarisse began boasting about her win and challenging anyone else who happened to lock eyes with her. Thalia did end up paying for the entire meal herself, declining any offers to help pay, even after the bill was paid the group stuck around and talked to one another for a while. But slowly, people started trickling back to their own rooms, leaving fewer and fewer faces at the table until it was just Bianca, Percy, and Thalia. Bianca told a joke that made Thalia laugh so hard she started crying and Percy was delighted to see Bianca finally opening up to other people. Even in their little family she would always be the quiet one so it was nice to see her making jokes and laughing along quietly. A large sound of thunder broke the joyfulness of the evening.

"Don't worry it's not my father, just regular, plain old lightning and thunder."

"Even so it's getting late and I better be getting home. Thank you so much for the dinner Thalia." Bianca smiled at Thalia and hugged Percy. "And um Percy, I might need your help tonight… with that um thing." She quickly dashed off in the direction of the hotel they were staying at.

Thalia looked bewildered at the actions of the daughter of Hades and looked towards Percy for an answer. "What the heck was that about? That thing? No offense but that sounds dirty, you two aren't… together are you?"

"What? No nothing like that. We are just friends but she's really been only friendly to me more than anybody. Bianca is very fearful of thunderstorms. She's never told anyone but me so I was the one who would always help her fall asleep or calm down if one ever shows up." Percy winced because he wasn't actually supposed to tell anyone that. "And you should totally keep that between us."

Thalia smirked and nodded before looking towards the dark night sky above and signing. "And yet she seems totally unafraid of me and my father is the one who causes them."

"Bianca is an excellent judge of character, and it's obvious even to me that you are a good person."

Thalia blushed at the compliment and the two started making their way towards the hotel as well.

"Oh that reminds me," Percy grabbed the blanket that was hooked on his back with a strap. He unwound the soft wool and brought out the spear he bought for her. "This is for you, as a thank you and apology from me."

"Percy… It's beautiful. I actually had my eye on this exact spear and was going to buy it now that my old spear was broken, but if I recall correctly it was pretty pricy. How in the world did you afford this?" She gently grabbed the smooth shaft of the spear and brought it closer to examine every inch of the dimly glistening metal. She couldn't believe he had done something so kind for her, because this spear cost a fortune; only demigods who go on missions constantly had enough to afford high-class equipment.

"Well my dad actually left me some money and I felt bad for breaking your last one so…" He was crushed by a hug from Thalia. She pulled away and blushed a little before going back to examining the spear.

"No one has actually given me a gift before, this would be my first one. My old weapons were a reward for completing quests, and all my dad does is give me lots of money even though I don't deserve it. No one knows my birthday and my squad doesn't even celebrate them any ways so… well I guess I was just overcome because someone had given me a gift."

"So when is your birthday?"

"December twenty second."

"Hey that's coming up isn't it? I guess we'll have to celebrate it. I'll take you out to lunch and we can do something fun afterwards. What'daya say?"

Thalia's mouth fell open, and her heart started beating faster. A warm feeling started to spread from her chest outwards. She had never felt it before but it made her want to run around in circles laughing like a maniac. "I think I would really like that." She found herself whispering.

"Great I'll see you later then pinecone face." He smirked and started walking away.

"Your asking for it seaweed brain!" she yelled after him but she couldn't help but laugh. It was hard to remember sometimes that they were both still just teenagers living in a very hard world, but she found herself just smiling after the fading form of Percy, the warm feeling still making its way through her body.

. . . . .

Percy stopped by his room to drop off his bag of money and change his formal clothes for a baggy shirt and sweats. He had luckily done his laundry, so at least he wasn't wearing clothes that reeked of sweat while he would be with Bianca. Then he made his way quietly down to her room and knocked on the door as quietly as possible. Her embarrassment over her fear led Percy to always try and be as secretive as possible when traveling to her room at night. The door slowly opened and Bianca pulled him into a hug, but another crack of thunder struck which made her squeeze him tighter. She grabbed his hand and pulled him inside and shut the door. Percy stumbled around her room trying to find his way around without any way to see where he was going. His legs caught something hard and he found himself lying on a very soft mattress.

"Bianca I can hardly see could we maybe turn on a light or something, just for a little bit?"

He heard a small laugh by the door and a lamp burst to life, igniting and revealing the room. Percy looked up a little annoyed until another crack of thunder sounded and a very frightened Bianca tackled him.

"Why hello there, Bianca. Mind letting me get up?" Percy chuckled.

"Sorry Percy…" she got up and looked towards the window as Percy fixed the covers for her, leaving a little space for her to get under the blankets. She slid herself in and Percy lay down next to her but he didn't bother getting in the covers. He sat with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed as he listened to the soft sprinkling of rain against the window. It was rhythmic and calming, and the occasional lightning flash for sound of thunder made everything seem like a dream to him. Of course Bianca just stared wide-eyed towards the ceiling making Percy laugh again. He slid himself under the covers with her and felt her arms cling to him trying to escape her fear by pushing herself as close to him as possible. He wrapped his arms around her back whispering comforting thoughts while smiling to himself. He had never understood Bianca's fear but he never wanted to see her scared, he remembered the first time he had found out about it.

~.~

They were working the fields in the slave camp because it was harvest season. It was unluckily raining and it appeared that a thunderstorm would soon be approaching. Of course that didn't mean that the slave drivers would let them head inside, no they were forced to harvest every last crop before they could shield themselves from the storm. Percy was taking a quick break, even though he knew if he got caught he would be punished. There was a bright flash that lit up the sky and he wondered if he would be lucky enough to be one of the 'unfortunate' ones who happened to get struck and die. The sound of thunder rolled across the sky letting every soul know the power of the heavens. That's when he heard crying from a little ways away. He stood to find out what had happened and made his way past stalks of wheat to find a small olive skinned girl cradling her legs and rocking back and forth crying. He had tried talking to her on multiple occasions before because he knew she was a demigod, but she always pushed him away. He leaned down beside her resting his hands on her shoulder. She looked up to see who had touched her and frowned because it was the same boy who had been following her around. Percy noticed that she had a lot of apples and fruit next to her. It was obvious she had stolen then from the titan forces' personal food storage.

Percy put on a friendly smile, "why are you crying? You're all right, aren't you?" He helped gather up the stolen food and gently sat down next to her.

"It's the thunder… it's just so scary, I can't stand it. You probably think that's ridiculous…"

"Not at all. Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fears, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones." Bianca was studying Percy, trying to make out hat exactly he had said, he didn't seem like the kind of boy to say heartfelt thoughts that touched both mind and body.

There was the sound of large sniffing coming from their right and Bianca's eyes widened. Her gaze darted to the stolen food and then Percy's calm smile.

"Everything's going to be okay the lightning and thunder won't hurt you and neither will this hellhound. No go back to crying real quick will you?"

Another wave of thunder sounded making Bianca start to cry again and that's when a guard and his hellhound appeared.

"You there, which one of you stole this food! Or was it a team effort perhaps?"

"No sir. I stole this food fair and square and was about to eat it peacefully when this girl came and threatened to turn me in. So I punched her in the stomach and told her to go away." Percy took a bite of an apple for good measure and stared at the fuming face of the guard with a bored look. "So you going to punish me or something, or just let me eat all your food."

Bianca's mouth was open as the guard knocked Percy out with a hard blow to the head and hoisted his still body on his shoulder. The guard then looked at Bianca. "Good job miss and remember to report any thefts or acts of insubordination to a guard and you'll be rewarded for you good behavior." Then he walked off back towards the main camp leaving a stunned Bianca behind.

~.~

Percy brought his thoughts to the present he hated recounting the past, it was much bleaker and full of sadness.

"Percy… you all right? You feel really tense."

"Yeah Bianca, it's nothing, just thinking about the past."

Bianca understood, she could relate to him in many ways, because most of the kids there thought that they would never escape that corrupted place. There's death, and in death at least it's quick and you don't have to suffer too much but you also think about all the what-if's in your life and wonder if death would have been better than life or not. Then there is slavery and torture where it feels like your very heart and soul are ripped and torn beyond repair. The memories follow you around for the rest of your life making you wish for death but, for whatever reason, you continue gripping to life. Bianca began rubbing Percy's back in slow strokes. She traced all the scars he had on his back from disobeying or disrespecting officials. Percy had often taken the blame for anything wrong there family had done, even though they yelled at him afterwards. All he would say was that he wanted to prevent any of his friends from experiencing any pain and if that meant he would have to take the punishment for them then he would gladly do so. Her hand finally reached a large scar that went from his shoulder to just before the small of his back. It was the largest one he had and he had gotten it the day he took her punishment, feeling the scars always made Bianca feel guilty but Percy's hands grabbed her arms and pulled them back to in between them.

He also realized what position they were in and turned to face the ceiling again. "Hey listen, there is nothing that makes me happier than preventing harm from you. There is no reason you should feel guilty because of my scars, they let me know I did the right thing in the past. They make me stand firm in the face of danger, not falter and cower away in fear because it means I still have family to fight for."

"Percy… you are always protecting us. Taking the pain for us, shielding us from the darker side of life, but when will you realize that we care for you too. You are the reason we fight as well and without you we would still be in that accursed slave camp or perhaps even dead." Percy felt warm tears start to sink into his shirt. "Percy when will you let me protect instead? Will you stop treating me as burden and more as a fellow warrior? You always take the most dangerous part in whatever we are doing, and that's if you don't try to do the entire thing by yourself! It makes me worry so much because even if you are the son of Poseidon and the strongest person in our group… you are going to, to eventually find an enemy that you can't defeat. How could I go on if that happened because you saved me? How could I live with myself knowing I was the reason you died?"

Percy shifted his position and embraced her as more thunder shook the room, but Bianca wasn't scared of the anger of Zeus anymore. She was just afraid of losing Percy, the first person to push through her hard exterior and give her something that meant the world to her: a family. She was crying because she had this feeling that she would still be alive the day Percy's glorious light was extinguished, and she knew that having Percy die would damage their family perhaps even tear them all apart.

"Bianca, I have to protect you, all of you. I can see how much pain that would put you through so I would make sure to spare all of you from that pain. There will never be a monster I can't beat, not as long as all of you are here."

She knew he was lying to her and she knew he knew that too. But she allowed herself to accept what he had said because she desperately wanted to believe it. She wanted to believe she would always be by his side, that she could always hold his hand when stupid things like thunder scared her.

"Percy what did they do to you the day they took you to the laboratory? You've always been different since that day. It's really hard to notice and I almost believed I was imagining things, but you have shown less emotion since that day. Percy what did they do that hurt you so badly?"

Percy tensed, even pulled away from her a little. She could hear his heart pounding in his chest and his breathing grow rapid. She couldn't see his face in the dark room so she could only imagine what his expression was but, she had a pretty good idea of a word that could describe it; terrified. Terrified and Percy in the same sentence never mixed unless it was describing his enemy. It hurt her to think that the titans had done something so horrific to him that day. It made her heart clench to see him like this. So she pulled him back into her embrace.

"Sorry Percy, just forget I said anything."

And that's what he did. He forced the thoughts from that day out of his head and closed his eyes, resting his head on the soft pillow. Bianca's warmth still spreading throughout his body, with her body nuzzled closely to his chest. He was still awake late into the night, much later than Bianca. Even the mention of that experience caused his blood to run cold. He could see the moon from the small window in the room; it seemed to be glowing a lot brighter than he had ever seen it glow before. He watched the glow slowly fade away as the moon slowly sank away behind the horizon and closed his eyes to at least get a small amount of sleep before the day began.

. . . . .

Percy still woke up before anyone else so that no one would know that he had stayed the night at Bianca's. He stumbled his way to his room feeling miserable from staying up so late. He sat down on his bed trying to convince himself to get up and start the day, although sleep was the only thought on his mind. He was supposed to practice with his squad today, but thinking about that made him groan. He threw himself down, staring at the ceiling, debating between himself if it was worth it to try and go back to sleep. Eventually he gave up and went to take another shower. He brushed his teeth while cleaning himself off; partly because he forgot last night and partly because brushing your teeth in the morning helps you wake up.

Percy had just finished getting dressed when there was a knock on his door. He checked his appearance in the mirror quickly to make sure he didn't look like a zombie, and then opened it to be greeted by Thalia.

"Hey pinecone face, what brings you here? Especially this early in the morning."

"Well seaweed brain, I was asked to bring you to the Olympian quest board today. Apparently your squad already has job posting…" the bitterness in her voice was apparent but Percy let it pass. He knew she hated sitting around the city and she blamed her father for that. "I thought I might go with you incase you had any questions. Never hurts to learn your way around Olympus after all."

"Sure sounds fine. Just let me inform Beckendorf that he will have to lead training today."

"No problem, not like we are in a big rush or anything."

So Percy made the short walk down the hall to Beckendorf's room. He knocked once on the door and heard shuffling. Percy smirked when he could make out the sound of hushed whispers. He knew exactly what was going on inside the room. When Beckendorf answered it was obvious he had just woken up. His eyes looked glassy and he had some shorts and a white tank top on although his shirt was inside out and a little crooked on his body. Percy could help but chuckle at the slight smell of perfume in the room.

"So Beckendorf, I see you're following the rules of having only the same sex members in your room after ten."

His cheeked blazed a slight red but he just frowned at Percy before letting out a small laugh and apologizing. "Sorry Perce but don't worry we aren't doing anything you wouldn't approve of, we would just like to be together is all."

"Hey no worries man, I understand. And it's not like I'm going to force her out of there or anything just… ya know don't do anything bad all right?" Percy was never good in conversations like this; usually he would just exclude himself from the conversation. "The reason I actually came down was to inform you that I won't be able to make practice today because we apparently already have a quest or something. Thalia and I are going to head up there and she is kind enough to explain anything I have questions about. So it appears that I'll be learning a lot about Olympus today and you'll be running training for the time being."

"Sure no problem Perce."

"All right, I'll see you later than have a good day." He turned to leave but turned back. "And you as well Silena, don't miss practice." The blush on Beckendorf's face deepened as Percy walked back down the hall smiling to himself with Thalia in tow.

"Percy are you seriously okay with them sharing a room, by themselves, together, alone, every night?"

"Yeah of course I am. You see back at the camp they would spend most nights like that. Sharing a mat or sleeping bag or whatever. I'm pretty sure that it would be quite hard or painful for either of them to spend the night without that comforting warmth right next to them. So I would be more than happy to ensure that they are happy and sleeping well."

"Oh. Yeah okay." Thalia decided to keep her mouth shut after that. It was difficult for her to comprehend and remember where Percy and his squad came from. They appeared so happy and normal that understanding that they were once all slaves to the titan forces was almost impossible. If you would see Percy and his friends just spending a day together you would think that they grew up together within the safe boundaries of Elpída rather than the desolate world that they actually came from. She just followed Percy as he made his way through the busy streets, he kept a constant smile on his face but she could tell there was another emotion lingering deep inside the far corners of his mind. He certainly didn't look well; he seemed to be rather pale and tired.

"Percy, are you feeling all right? You don't exactly look like you normally do."

Percy laughed slightly but let out a sigh as well. "I didn't exactly get the best sleep last night, I think I would really just like to go back to bed, but my friends come before my own personal needs so I guess I have to do this for now."

"What time did you go to bed?"

"I couldn't really tell you other than the moon was starting to sink behind the horizon by the time I finally passed out." Thalia laid her hand atop his forehead causing Percy to stop in his tracks. "Um, what are you doing?"

"Checking you temperature, dummy. You're kind of hot." Thalia blushed at her own statement and shot Percy a glare. "Don't get any idea's about that." Percy just gave her a confused look in return. "Maybe you should head back and lay down."

"I'll be fine, don't worry. Hey does that store sell water bottles?" he said pointing to an old grocery store.

"I believe so, why?"

"I'll be right back."

Thalia waited by the entrance as Percy explored the store. He eventually returned carrying four water bottles. "Here you go, one for you."

"You're really going to drink three water bottles?"

"Yeah, you said I seemed kind of sick and with water I should be able to heal myself quickly."

"Oh right, the whole son of Poseidon thing. Wait wouldn't only salt water heal you?"

"Not exactly, although salt water would heal me the fastest and most efficiently, fresh and purified water will do the same job just not as well." So Percy unscrewed one of the lids and downed the entire bottle without a breath. He followed suit with the second but just stuck the last one in his back pocket. Then he went back to making his way towards The Empire State leaving a very bewildered Thalia behind. She eventually caught up to him just as he was about to walk through the doors. When he noticed her approach, he held the door open for her instead, allowing her to be the first one in to see her favorite person: the desk clerk.

Thalia mentally groaned as she approached the counter and rang the small bell atop the counter. The desk clerk, with his clean-shaven head, was submerged in a peculiar book. She couldn't quite make out the title but he was so entranced by it that he never once looked up to see who had rung the bell on his desk. Thalia cleared her throat rather annoyed by his blatant disregard for her and then continued smashing on the bell repeatedly. He glanced up angrily to meet the azure eyes of Thalia and set his book down, knowing that he was probably in for another argument with the same girl. The amount of complaints and distractions he had received from this one child, pushed him to his last string of patients and Thalia was the scissors ready to cut it whenever she felt like it.

"You realize you have only one job correct and that it's probably the easiest job in the world. You could at least answer when I ring your stupid little bell."

_Snip._

The man's face started to twitch but he said nothing.

"So Baldy, will you allow me to go up to the five hundredth floor or not."

"No," was his simple reply and he was amused by the look of hatred in the young girls face. "Because I have strict orders from Zeus not to let you anywhere near the council chambers."

Percy decided to intervene before Thalia exploded so he took a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Actually my squad has a job request and I was hoping Thalia here would explain things to me since it will be my first time getting a quest. Don't worry sir, I will make sure we go no where near the council."

The man studied Percy, giving him a quick look over. He then relinquished the key and went back to reading his book. Percy took it and made his way over to the elevator giving Thalia a smile along the way. "You two really need to get along better you know that?" She answered him with a glare.

As they waited patiently in the elevator Percy started listening to the music playing. He couldn't place the song because it sounded like classical music from the fifteen hundreds. There were no words it was just an instrumental song that was reparative and quite boring to listen to.

"You know, you would think the gods would have better music for their guests to listen to."

Thalia started laughing. "I know right, you would think that they would have the decency to provide good music for anybody willing to make a trip to Olympus, yet all they have is this. Sounds like it's from the dark ages or something."

Percy laughed along with her, nodding in agreement. There was a quiet 'ding' and the doors slid open revealing the glorious city of Olympus once again. Thalia led the way through the many winding streets to reach the building where jobs and quests were given out. It wasn't the most fancy building in the city of the gods but it still looked like a work from a master architect. It had beautiful marble walls that rose high above and shined against the stunning blue sky. It had two bronze braziers that stood outside the entrance with blazing orange fires but no doors. Probably because there was never bad weather on Olympus and no need to insulate buildings.

"Did you know there's actually a myth about the different colors of fire?" Thalia stopped at a bench and Percy was kind enough to follow.

"No, besides that Prometheus used it to help create humans."

"Well when fire was first created, there were four different kinds; red, orange, gold, and blue. Each represented a different characteristic that could be expressed. Red was love, orange courage, gold purity, and blue was strength or magic. The gods kept each of these fires in separate braziers around Olympus. When Prometheus stole fire from the gods he stole a small bit from each brazier in which they were kept, and combined them into a great fire that expressed the strengths and weaknesses of each characteristic. Except that he forgot to add the blue fire to the mix, so humans had less strength and power then the children of the gods. I'm not sure if it's true or not because I haven't seen any braziers of different color fire around here, but it's said that if you reach your hand in one of the original braziers that you shall express that trait for the rest of their life and everyone shall see the fire blaze around them. If that makes any sense," she chuckled. "It's a very confusing myth with a lot of different versions though. They have orange flames outside the quest building because it takes a lot of courage to leave the safety of the walls. Of course there is also a less know part of the legend that said that there was a fifth kind of fire, a black fire solely created from darkness, that was said to represent everything negative and evil in the world like death. The power of this fire outweighed the others and the gods voted to destroy it for fear of its power. But no matter what they did the fire would never dissipate, when water was thrown on top of the flame it would sputter out for a second before blazing back to life. So they encased the flame in ice and buried it deep under the earth, hoping that the power of Gaia might be able to withstand its power. Of course this is still assuming that the legend is true."

"Dang Thal's I didn't know you studied the old Greek myths… should we really be calling them myths? I mean, here we are standing on Olympus. So what does that make them, history?"

Thalia laughed, "I guess so, but I don't think you should underestimate knowing the legends, they could save your life in a battle if you remember how someone else killed a monster. Anyway lets head in and see what inspiring quest you are going on while I get to sit here and do absolutely nothing." Percy nodded and walked inside along with Thalia.

There were more people inside then he would have expected, each person had a shoulder pad with a number on it. Thalia explained that the number represented the squad they led. Thalia had one of her own but choose not to where it when off duty, but since most leaders were either extremely prideful or arrogant of their squad or rank they usually wore their shoulder pad all the time. The higher the rank of your squad the different color shoulder pad you would receive. The lowest level was leather, and then came iron, steel, bronze, silver, stygian, gold, and finally platinum. There were only three groups eligible for platinum class pads, and Thalia's squad was one of them. Jobs were listed by difficulty and by class. There was a leather board; iron board and so on, and the easiest were on the left and the harder ones were on the right, the harder the job the bigger the payout. Thalia joked that they might as well be mercenaries working for the gods rather than brave mortals and their own children, but at least it was a way to provide for themselves and their families. Warriors got paid the most out of any profession, so it was very tempting for people to try and go out for the military rather than trying to make money any other way.

"Some teams actually took advantage of desperate mortals and recruit them to use as personal shields or distractions. It's despicable, but most demigods look down upon mortals as a nuisance. Course if the demi-god who leads the quad dies the other mortals might take command of the squad. In my mind that makes those demi-gods no better than the titans, but at least they are fighting the titans rather than us."

"Still, it's not like mortals are just lounging around expecting us to do everything for them. Treating them like they are below us is wrong; it should be the other way around. The people looking down on mortals are the ones who are petty and wrong."

"I'd be careful where you say that Percy fights between squads have been known to start that way."

"If I didn't believe in what I said enough to withhold the information because of fear of harm, then what kind of leader am I?"

"Percy I'm not saying you're weak by any means, you are quite the opposite in fact. I'm saying that starting a fight is never wise unless it's either absolutely necessary or you are forced into it, with no other option."

Percy seemed to contemplate her words for a moment before breathing a soft sigh and giving her another half smile. "Yeah, you are right. I must just be a little cranky from not getting enough sleep."

She laughed and dragged him over to a desk at the front of the room. There was a blonde kid with stormy grey eyes and a serious expression staring intently at a computer. Thalia snapped her finger to get his attention. "Hey Malcolm, my friend is looking for his first job. Apparently his squad was requested for one or something."

"Hey Thalia. Let me check, just give me a second. So how's Annabeth doing? She fitting in and everything?"

"Yeah she's a valuable part of our team, I don't think we could ever succeed without her strategies."

Malcolm chuckled in agreement. "Yeah. Anyway as for the quest, it looks like one of the gods put in a special request for him. Apparently his son was sent on a mission a little while ago and never reported back. They fear he has been captured and is being held in a slave camp somewhere near the southern part of Colorado. There is a large slave camp under the management of a traitor demigod and a pack of Neman lions."

"Wait a pack? Shouldn't there only be one or something?"

"Not exactly. Back before the war, most likely yes. But with this war going on, the titans tried to figure out a way to create endless armies; and apparently they somehow developed a way to clone monsters. It was most likely developed in one of those titan laboratories but every time we try and investigate them they go up in flames and if we ever capture a cloned monster it instantly dies. The weird thing though is that they never turn to dust like normal monsters they just bleed out and turn to tuffs of fur or what ever they are made of. It could mean…"

"Malcolm, thank you but the job request? He needs the actual parchment to have permission to leave the walls."

"Right, except you are both going so you'll both need one."

"Wait, I'm going to too?" Thalia let out a triumphant cheer and snatched the paper out of Malcolm's hand as soon as he held it up. She read it over and her face went from ecstatic to a look of sadness and anger. When Percy read his, he realized why and his thoughts instantly went to Bianca's reaction when he would tell her. The name printed of the lost child read Nico DiAngelo.

**Theres chapter three let me know what you thought if you feel particularly inspired to do so. Any sort of comment is welcomed. I hope everyone has a good holiday season and sorry for uploading this a little later than normal school dragged me back into my personal jail.**


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